Automatic shut-off



May 12, 1925. s. L. BELL AUTOMATIC SHUT-OFF Filed' Sept. 4, 1924 Patented May 12, 1925.

SARAH L. BELL, OF CAMBRTDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

AUTOMATIC SHUT-OFF.

Application filed September 4, 1924. Serial No. 735,841.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, SARAH L. BELL, a c1t1 zen of the United States, residing at Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Shut-Offs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an automatic shut-o-lf for liquid containers, and has for its object to provide a device for automatically shutting off the supply of water to bath tubs, wash bowls and similar containers, the said device being so associated with the overflow discharge pipes of said containers that if, through neglect, the faucet of the container is left open and the level of the water within the container is allowed to rise until it reaches the overflow discharge pipe, that the water flowing outwardly from the container through said discharge pipe will be utilized to operate a valve which is located in the inlet pipe to the container,

The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification and particularly as pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a sectional elevation illustrating an end portion of a bath tub, a device embodying my invention being illustrated attached thereto.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the de vice as viewed from the right of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the inlet valve casing.

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the movable valve member of the inlet valve.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

In the drawings, 5 represents the end portion of a liquid container, as, for example, a bath tub which is provided with a faucet 6 of well known construction and preferably of a type for discharging both hot and cold water into said bath tub, said water being delivered to said faucets through inlet pipes 7 and 8. The bath tub 5 is also provided with an overflow discharge pipe 9 which has embodied therein a vertical portion 10 which constitutes, in effect, a member of a valve 11, and slidab ly mounted within said vertical portion 10 of said valve 11 is a cylindrical valve member 12, the lower portion of which is closed at 13. The movable valve member 12 has a port 14 formed in the side thereof adjacent to the lower end thereof, and when sald valve member 12 is located in its lowermost position, said port 14 registers with a port 15 provided at the lower end of the valve 11. I

The flow of hot and cold Water through the pipes 7 and 8 is normally controlled in the usual well known manner by the faucet 6, but another means is also provided for controlling the flow of water through said pipes, said means comprising a valve 16 with which the pipes 7 and8 communicate. The

valve 16 embodies therein a valve member 17 to which an arm 18 is rigidly fastened, and the latter is operatively connected to the movable valve member 12 by a flexible.

member 19 which extends over a pulley 20 rotatably mounted upon a bracket 21, the latter, in turn, being supported upon the pipes 7 and 8. The'movable valve member 17 has passages 22 and 23 extending transversely therethrough which communicate with ports 24 and 25 respectively provided in a casing 26 of the valve 16 and said ports 24 and 25 communicaterespectively with the inlet pipes 7 and 8.

The-valve 16 may be operated manually by a push rod 27 which is mounted to slide in the bracket 21 and aqbracket 28, the latter also being supported upon the pipes 7 and 8, said push rod 27 being operatively connected tothe arm 18 by a link 29. A handle 30 is provided for the push rod 27.

The general operation of the device of this invention is as follows :-Assuming that the faucet 6 is closed and that thevalve 16 is open, at which time the arm 18 is located in the full line position illustrated in Fig. 1, the person using the bath tub opens the faucet 6 to admit either hot or cold water, or a combination of both, into the bath tub 5 in the usual well known manner. If, through neglect, the level of the water within the bath tub 5 is allowed to rise until it reaches the outlet overflow 9, said water will flow from said bath tub outwardly through the overflow pipe and into the open upper end of the movable valve member 12 of the valve 11, and as the port 14 at the bottom of the movable valve member 12 is closed, the overflow water will accumulate in said movable valve member until the weight of the same is suflicient to pull the arm 18 of the valve 16 toward the left in Fig. 1 from the full line position to the dotted line position, thereby closing the valve 16 and shutting ofi "the supply of water through :the pipes 7 and 8.

As the movable valve member 12 drops.

with the weight of thewater therein, the port 14 at the lower end of said valve member is brought into alignment withthe 'port 15 at the lower end of the valve 11 and the water previously held 'confined within-said movable valve member filows outwardly therefrom into the discharge pipe.

It will be seen that the'device of this invention will operate automatically to shutofi' the supply of water to the bath tub 5 said inlet pipe, a discharge pipe for said container, a gravity; actuated member located within said discharge pipe and operatively connected to said valve and adapted to close the latter, a push rod to manually operate said valve and gravity member, and guides in which said push rod is slidably mounted.

2. In combination, a liquid container, an inlet pipe for said container, a valve for said inlet pipe, a discharge pipe for said container, a member slidably mounted within said discharge pipe and normally closing the passage therethrough, means to operatively connect said member to said valve, said member being actuated by the weight of overflow water from said container to close said valve, a push rod and means operatively connecting said push rod to said valve whereby the latter may be manually operated to open or close the same.

3. In combination, a liquid container, an inlet pipe for said container, a valve for said inlet pipe, a discharge pipe for said container, a valve for said discharge pipe embodying therein a movable valve member having-a normally closed discharge port provided therein, and means to operatively connect said movable valve member to the valve of said inlet pipe, said movable valve member being actuated by the weight of uoverflow Water from said container to close said inlet valve and to open said discharge port.-:

4. In combination, a liquid container, a plurality of inlet pipes for said container, a faucet -forsaid inlet pipes, a valve for said inlet pipes, a discharge pipe for said container, a member slidably mounted within saiddischarge pipe and normally closing the passage therethrough, and means to operatively connect said member to said valve, said member'being actuated by the weight of overflow water from said container to close said valve. I I

5. In combination, a liquid container, an inlet pipe for said container, a valve for said inlet pipe, a discharge pipe for said container, a member slidably mounted within said discharge pipe and closing the passage therethrough, said member having a normally closed discharge port provided therein, means to operatively connect said member'to said valve, said member normally being actuated by the weight of overflow water from said container to close said inlet valve and to open said discharge port, a push rod, and means operatively connecting said .push rod to said valve whereby the latter may be manually operated to open and close the same and said member manually operated to open and close "said discharge port.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

SARAH L. BELL.

lVitnesses FRANKLIN E. Low, HAZEL F. BATESV 

